Origin of a preferential avulsion node on lowland river deltas

River deltas are built by cycles of lobe growth and abrupt channel shifts, or avulsions, that occur within the backwater zone of coastal rivers. Previous numerical models differ on the origin of backwater‐scaled avulsion nodes and their consistency with experimental data. To unify previous work, we developed a numerical model of delta growth that includes backwater hydrodynamics, river mouth progradation, relative sea level rise, variable flow regimes, and cycles of lobe growth, abandonment, and reoccupation. For parameter space applicable to lowland deltas, we found that flow variability is the primary mechanism to cause persistent avulsion nodes by focusing aggradation within the backwater zone. Backwater‐scaled avulsion nodes also occur under less likely scenarios of initially uniform bed slopes or during rapid relative sea level rise and marine transgression. Our findings suggest that flow variability is a fundamental control on long‐term delta morphodynamics

Sediment dynamics in the lower Mekong River : transition from tidal river to estuary

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 120 (2015): 6363–6383, doi:10.1002/2015JC010754.A better understanding of flow and sediment dynamics in the lowermost portions of large-tropical rivers is essential to constraining estimates of worldwide sediment delivery to the ocean. Flow velocity, salinity, and suspended-sediment concentration were measured for 25 h at three cross sections in the tidal Song Hau distributary of the Mekong River, Vietnam. Two campaigns took place during comparatively high-seasonal and low-seasonal discharge, and estuarine conditions varied dramatically between them. The system transitioned from a tidal river with ephemeral presence of a salt wedge during high flow to a partially mixed estuary during low flow. The changing freshwater input, sediment sources, and estuarine characteristics resulted in seaward sediment export during high flow and landward import during low flow. The Dinh An channel of the Song Hau distributary exported sediment to the coast at a rate of about 1 t s−1 during high flow and imported sediment in a spatially varying manner at approximately 0.3 t s−1 during low flow. Scaling these values results in a yearly Mekong sediment discharge estimate about 65% smaller than a generally accepted estimate of 110 Mt yr−1, although the limited temporal and spatial nature of this study implies a relatively high degree of uncertainty for the new estimate. Fluvial advection of sediment was primarily responsible for the high-flow sediment export. Exchange-flow and tidal processes, including local resuspension, were principally responsible for the low-flow import. The resulting bed-sediment grain size was coarser and more variable during high flow and finer during low, and the residual flow patterns support the maintenance of mid-channel islands.Office of Naval Research Grant Numbers: N00014-12-1-0181 , N00014-13-1-0127 , N00014-13-1-0781, and National Defense Science and Engineering2016-03-2

Modeling deltaic lobe‐building cycles and channel avulsions for the Yellow River delta, China

River deltas grow by repeating cycles of lobe development punctuated by channel avulsions, so that over time, lobes amalgamate to produce a composite landform. Existing models have shown that backwater hydrodynamics are important in avulsion dynamics, but the effect of lobe progradation on avulsion frequency and location has yet to be explored. Herein, a quasi‐2‐D numerical model incorporating channel avulsion and lobe development cycles is developed. The model is validated by the well‐constrained case of a prograding lobe on the Yellow River delta, China. It is determined that with lobe progradation, avulsion frequency decreases, and avulsion length increases, relative to conditions where a delta lobe does not prograde. Lobe progradation lowers the channel bed gradient, which results in channel aggradation over the delta topset that is focused farther upstream, shifting the avulsion location upstream. Furthermore, the frequency and location of channel avulsions are sensitive to the threshold in channel bed superelevation that triggers an avulsion. For example, avulsions occur less frequently with a larger superelevation threshold, resulting in greater lobe progradation and avulsions that occur farther upstream. When the delta lobe length prior to avulsion is a moderate fraction of the backwater length (0.3–0.5L_b), the interplay between variable water discharge and lobe progradation together set the avulsion location, and a model capturing both processes is necessary to predict avulsion timing and location. While this study is validated by data from the Yellow River delta, the numerical framework is rooted in physical relationships and can therefore be extended to other deltaic systems

Suspended-sediment induced stratification inferred from concentration and velocity profile measurements in the lower Yellow River, China

Despite a multitude of models predicting sediment transport dynamics in open‐channel flow, self‐organized vertical density stratification that dampens flow turbulence due to the interaction between fluid and sediment, has not been robustly validated with field observations from natural rivers. Turbulence‐suppressing density stratification can develop in channels with low channel‐bed slope and high sediment concentration. As the Yellow River, China, maintains one of the highest sediment loads in the world for a low sloping system, this location is ideal for documenting particle and fluid interactions that give rise to density stratification. Herein, we present analyses from a study conducted over a range of discharge conditions (e.g., low flow, rising limb, and flood peak) from a lower reach of the Yellow River, whereby water samples were collected at targeted depths to measure sediment concentration and, simultaneously, velocity measurements were collected throughout the flow depth. Importantly, sediment concentration varied by an order of magnitude between base and flood flows. By comparing measured concentration and velocity profiles to predictive models, we show that the magnitude of density stratification increases with sediment concentration. Furthermore, a steady‐state calculation of sediment suspension is used to determine that sediment diffusivity increases with grain size. Finally, we calculate concentration and velocity profiles, showing that steady‐state sediment suspensions are reliably predicted over a range of stratification conditions larger than had been previously documented in natural river flows. We determine that the magnitude of density stratification can be predicted by a function considering an entrainment parameter, sediment concentration, and bed slope

Entrainment and suspension of sand and gravel

The entrainment and suspension of sand and gravel are important for the evolution of rivers, deltas, coastal areas, and submarine fans. The prediction of a vertical profile of suspended sediment concentration typically consists of assessing (1) the concentration near the bed using an entrainment relation and (2) the upward vertical distribution of sediment in the water column. Considerable uncertainty exists in regard to both of these steps, especially the near-bed concentration. Most entrainment relations have been tested against limited grain-size-specific data, and no relations have been evaluated for gravel suspension, which can be important in bedrock and mountain rivers. To address these issues, we compiled a database with suspended sediment data from natural rivers and flume experiments, taking advantage of the increasing availability of high-resolution grain size measurements. We evaluated 12 dimensionless parameters that may determine entrainment and suspension relations and applied multivariate regression analysis. A best-fit two-parameter equation (r² = 0.79) shows that near-bed entrainment, evaluated at 10 % of the flow depth, decreases with the ratio of settling velocity to skin-friction shear velocity (w_(si)/u_(∗ skin)), as in previous relations, and increases with Froude number (Fr), possibly due to its role in determining bedload-layer concentrations. We used the Rouse equation to predict concentration upward from the reference level and evaluated the coefficient β_i, which accounts for differences in the turbulent diffusivity of sediment from the parabolic eddy viscosity model used in the Rouse derivation. The best-fit relation for β_i (r² = 0.40) indicates greater relative sediment diffusivities for rivers with greater flow resistance, possibly due to bedform-induced turbulence, and larger w_(si)/u_(∗ skin); the latter dependence is nonlinear and therefore different from standard Rouse theory. In addition, we used empirical relations for gravel saltation to show that our relation for near-bed concentration also provides good predictions for coarse-grained sediment. The new relations extend the calibrated parameter space over a wider range in sediment sizes and flow conditions compared to previous work and result in 95 % of concentration data throughout the water column predicted within a factor of 9

Suspended-sediment induced stratification inferred from concentration and velocity profile measurements in the lower Yellow River, China

Despite a multitude of models predicting sediment transport dynamics in open‐channel flow, self‐organized vertical density stratification that dampens flow turbulence due to the interaction between fluid and sediment, has not been robustly validated with field observations from natural rivers. Turbulence‐suppressing density stratification can develop in channels with low channel‐bed slope and high sediment concentration. As the Yellow River, China, maintains one of the highest sediment loads in the world for a low sloping system, this location is ideal for documenting particle and fluid interactions that give rise to density stratification. Herein, we present analyses from a study conducted over a range of discharge conditions (e.g., low flow, rising limb, and flood peak) from a lower reach of the Yellow River, whereby water samples were collected at targeted depths to measure sediment concentration and, simultaneously, velocity measurements were collected throughout the flow depth. Importantly, sediment concentration varied by an order of magnitude between base and flood flows. By comparing measured concentration and velocity profiles to predictive models, we show that the magnitude of density stratification increases with sediment concentration. Furthermore, a steady‐state calculation of sediment suspension is used to determine that sediment diffusivity increases with grain size. Finally, we calculate concentration and velocity profiles, showing that steady‐state sediment suspensions are reliably predicted over a range of stratification conditions larger than had been previously documented in natural river flows. We determine that the magnitude of density stratification can be predicted by a function considering an entrainment parameter, sediment concentration, and bed slope

The exceptional sediment load of fine-grained dispersal systems: Example of the Yellow River, China

Sedimentary dispersal systems with fine-grained beds are common, yet the physics of sediment movement within them remains poorly constrained. We analyze sediment transport data for the best-documented, fine-grained river worldwide, the Huanghe (Yellow River) of China, where sediment flux is underpredicted by an order of magnitude according to well-accepted sediment transport relations. Our theoretical framework, bolstered by field observations, demonstrates that the Huanghe tends toward upper-stage plane bed, yielding minimal form drag, thus markedly enhancing sediment transport efficiency. We present a sediment transport formulation applicable to all river systems with silt to coarse-sand beds. This formulation demonstrates a remarkably sensitive dependence on grain size within a certain narrow range and therefore has special relevance to silt-sand fluvial systems, particularly those affected by dams

Entrainment and suspension of sand and gravel

The entrainment and suspension of sand and gravel are important for the evolution of rivers, deltas, coastal areas, and submarine fans. The prediction of a vertical profile of suspended sediment concentration typically consists of assessing (1) the concentration near the bed using an entrainment relation and (2) the upward vertical distribution of sediment in the water column. Considerable uncertainty exists in regard to both of these steps, especially the near-bed concentration. Most entrainment relations have been tested against limited grain-size-specific data, and no relations have been evaluated for gravel suspension, which can be important in bedrock and mountain rivers. To address these issues, we compiled a database with suspended sediment data from natural rivers and flume experiments, taking advantage of the increasing availability of high-resolution grain size measurements. We evaluated 12 dimensionless parameters that may determine entrainment and suspension relations and applied multivariate regression analysis. A best-fit two-parameter equation (r² = 0.79) shows that near-bed entrainment, evaluated at 10 % of the flow depth, decreases with the ratio of settling velocity to skin-friction shear velocity (w_(si)/u_(∗ skin)), as in previous relations, and increases with Froude number (Fr), possibly due to its role in determining bedload-layer concentrations. We used the Rouse equation to predict concentration upward from the reference level and evaluated the coefficient β_i, which accounts for differences in the turbulent diffusivity of sediment from the parabolic eddy viscosity model used in the Rouse derivation. The best-fit relation for β_i (r² = 0.40) indicates greater relative sediment diffusivities for rivers with greater flow resistance, possibly due to bedform-induced turbulence, and larger w_(si)/u_(∗ skin); the latter dependence is nonlinear and therefore different from standard Rouse theory. In addition, we used empirical relations for gravel saltation to show that our relation for near-bed concentration also provides good predictions for coarse-grained sediment. The new relations extend the calibrated parameter space over a wider range in sediment sizes and flow conditions compared to previous work and result in 95 % of concentration data throughout the water column predicted within a factor of 9

Origin of a preferential avulsion node on lowland river deltas

River deltas are built by cycles of lobe growth and abrupt channel shifts, or avulsions, that occur within the backwater zone of coastal rivers. Previous numerical models differ on the origin of backwater‐scaled avulsion nodes and their consistency with experimental data. To unify previous work, we developed a numerical model of delta growth that includes backwater hydrodynamics, river mouth progradation, relative sea level rise, variable flow regimes, and cycles of lobe growth, abandonment, and reoccupation. For parameter space applicable to lowland deltas, we found that flow variability is the primary mechanism to cause persistent avulsion nodes by focusing aggradation within the backwater zone. Backwater‐scaled avulsion nodes also occur under less likely scenarios of initially uniform bed slopes or during rapid relative sea level rise and marine transgression. Our findings suggest that flow variability is a fundamental control on long‐term delta morphodynamics

Flocculation characteristics of suspended Mississippi River mud under variable turbulence, water and salt sources, and salinity: a laboratory study

Muddy sediment constitutes a major fraction of the suspended sediment mass carried by the Mississippi River. Thus, adequate knowledge of the transport dynamics of suspended mud in this region is critical in devising efficient management plans for coastal Louisiana. We conducted laboratory tank experiments on the sediment suspended in the lower reaches of the Mississippi River to provide insight into the flocculation behavior of the mud. In particular, we measure how the floc size distribution responds to changing environmental factors of turbulent energy, sediment concentration, and changes in base water composition and salinity during summer and winter. We also compare observations from the tank experiments to in situ observations. Turbulence shear rate, a measure of river hydrodynamic energy, was found to be the most influential factor in determining mud floc size. All flocs produced at a given shear rate could be kept in suspension down to shear rates of approximately 20 s−1. At this shear rate, flocs on the order of 150–200 μm and larger can settle out. Equilibrium floc size was not found to depend on sediment concentration; flocs larger than 100 μm formed in sediment concentrations as low as 20 mgL−1. An increase in salinity generated by adding salts to river water suspensions did not increase the flocculation rate or equilibrium size. However, the addition of water collected from the Gulf of Mexico to river-water suspensions did enhance the flocculation rate and the equilibrium sizes. We speculate that the effects of Gulf of Mexico water originate from its biomatter content rather than its ion composition. Floc sizes in the mixing tanks were comparable to those from the field for similar estimated turbulent energy. Flocs were found to break within minutes under increased turbulence but can take hours to grow under conditions of reduced shear in freshwater settings. Growth was faster with the addition of Gulf of Mexico water. Overall, the experiments provide information on how suspended mud in the lower reaches of the Mississippi might respond to changes in turbulence and salinity moving from the fluvial to marine setting through natural distributary channels or man-made diversions